Just a Game
by melbelle310
Summary: An innocent pick-up game after classes can turn into much more for the students of Anubis House. Please R & R! Rated for later chapters, might change.
1. Chapter 1

**Just a Game**

**Summary:** An innocent pick-up game after classes can turn into much more for the students of Anubis House. Please R & R!

**Author's Note:** I know it's been a while (almost a year, in fact) since I last posted, but I'm back! This is my first attempt at a House of Anubis story, so please be kind with your comments. Initially this was going to be a one-shot, but I've decided I'm going to continue it. Each chapter will be the next game. The first one begins about three weeks after Nina first arrives at boarding school. I'm saying that's just after "House of Hyper". The game featured here is one that gym teachers in my district made up many years ago.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own House of Anubis.

"Nina! Wait up!" Fabian called down the hall when he spotted her signature fabric messenger bag. Nina paused and glanced over her shoulder, smiling when she realized who was calling her. She waited patiently for him to catch up with her. "Are you coming to the match later?" he asked conversationally when they fell into step. He pushed open one side of the double doors at the entrance to the school.

"What match?" she asked, taking in the excitement on his face. It brightened as they stepped into the sun, as if he drew strength from its light.

"The first Friday of the month, the guys from Anubis and a few other houses go head to head out on the field behind the school. We always try and get the girls to come cheer us on," he explained as they walked on the path, once unfamiliar to Nina, from the school back to Anubis house.

"Why not?" Nina agreed as the house came into view. Moments later, they walked up the steps and through the front door into a whirlwind of chaos.

"Alfie! We're _green_ this month!" Mick scolded his friend. Jerome, who had just emerged from the bedroom he and Alfie shared wearing a blue shirt, turned on his heel and disappeared from sight. Amber ran down the stairs with green headbands in her hand. She stopped in front of Nina.

"If you're coming with us tonight, you'll have to change. We're green, not red," she ordered before dashing out of sight.

"Well, are you coming?" Mara asked, looking at the headband in her hand for a moment and shrugging. Nina nodded. "Great! We have time to get ready while the boys head out for warm ups."

"Fabian! Get going, we have to get to warm-ups!" Mick called across the entrance hall, interrupting the conversation.

"Coming!" Fabian called back. "See you girls there," he commented quickly before running to his room to change into uniform. Mara grabbed Nina's arm and ran up the stairs with her to where Patricia waited. Amber followed them up and stood on Nina's other side. Trudy walked out of the kitchen with a pair of full water bottles in each hand. Moments later, the boys made their way to the door.

"Alright boys, let's move out!" Mick announced. The girls cheered from the top of the stairs as Mick took a bottle of water from Trudy's hand and walked out with just a wave goodbye. Jerome followed Mick first, with Alfie right behind him. Fabian was the last in their line, and he paused for an extra moment to meet Nina's eye. "Fabian!" Mick shouted.

"Coming!" Fabian replied too quickly. The girls laughed as he sprinted out the door. Trudy closed the door behind him and looked up.

"So, who wants to help me with the snacks for tonight?" she asked. Patricia looked at Amber.

"Mara and I will go down. You have to get Nina ready," she decided.

"Got it!" Amber agreed, taking Nina's hand and pulling her to their room. Fifteen minutes later, the four girls met at the front door. Trudy handed out their snacks and waters before sending them on their way.

"This month, the teams are split by the origins of their names. Since we're ancient Egyptian, we're teaming up with Khepri and Osiris. We're also joining with Mawat and Nergal, which come from regions just outside of Egypt," Mara read off as she consulted a notebook in her hand. "We're up against the Europeans – Leinth, Morana, Flins, Odin, and Freyja. Based on the statistics from the last few games, our side has a clear advantage, and Anubis has a good chance of keeping up our undefeated record."

"What exactly are they playing?" Nina asked.

"It's called whoopee. A few of the teachers made it up long before any of us started going to the school. It's similar to kickball, except that the runners can keep circling the bases for as long as they'd like," Mara explained.

"You'll catch on," Patricia added, seeing the confusion covering Nina's face. At last, they reached the field. "This way," Patricia directed them to a group of green girls. She sat down on the front bleacher, with Mara and Amber on either side of her. Nina took the open spot beside Mara and looked out to the fields, searching for her other housemates. From the center of the field, Mrs. Robinson blew a whistle.

"Teams, have you chosen your captains?" she asked. From the green team, Mick stepped forward. The Anubis girls cheered. Mr. Sweet, who was the chaperone for the night, turned to them.

"I see Anubis house has kept up its perfect attendance record," he commented as the action continued on the field.

With the flip of a coin, Mick sent his players to behind home base. Mara pulled out a pen and her notebook, quickly jotting down their order, and Mick sent Alfie up to hit first. Mara flipped through her notebook to a page titled with his name.

"Go Alfie!" Patricia encouraged. Amber, Mara, and Nina echoed the call, starting a roar that soared through the entire green cheering section. Alfie pointed at Amber and winked before the pitcher rolled the ball directly to him. When he kicked it, the ball flew over the fielders' heads and landed in the distance.

"Full round, Alfie!" Mick yelled from his place in the line. Alfie took off, running from one base to the next. He sprinted around, shouting "whoopee" at the top of his lungs when he started his second round. "Stay one!" Mick ordered as the ball flew back to the pitcher's hands. Alfie slid into first.

"Trudy's not going to like that," Nina commented, giggling.

"He does it every month," Patricia shrugged. The next player, a student from Osiris house, stepped forward.

"Though I don't know why. All that dirt..." Amber complained, to the amusement of her housemates. Mara jotted a few comments in her notebook. The boy launched the ball into the air and barely made it to first base, standing beside Alfie.

"Keeping track of their stats?" Nina asked Mara, glancing at the papers in her lap as the star player from Nergal house prepared to kick.

"Yeah. I've been keeping their records forever. The boys like to know how they're doing and how they can improve," Mara explained.

"Do you keep track of their behaviors?" Mara looked confused at Nina's question. "You know, things like warm-up lengths, traditions they may have individually or as a group..."

"Such as..." Mara trailed off, barely watching the game as the ball flew past the second baseman and gave the runners time to reach second base. A boy from Mawat house took his turn while Nina thought of the best way to change her thoughts into words.

"Alfie just pointed and winked at Amber, and then scored a home run." Mara lit up as she found Nina's thoughts.

"I've never even thought of that!" she exclaimed. The girls returned their eyes to the field just in time to see Mick step up for his turn.

"Go Mick!" Mara and Amber called at the same moment. When Amber leaned forward to glare at Mara, Patricia stepped in.

"We cheer for our housemates, remember?" she pointed out, adding, "let's go Mick!" for good measure. Nina echoed her, trying to ease the tension surrounding them. Mick glanced at their foursome for a fraction of his second, barely moving even his eyes to see them. He surveyed the players on the bases and in the field quickly, taking in their skill levels and his options. He locked eyes with Alfie, who was now on third base, and brushed his thigh three times.

"Line drive to third?" Amber gasped, just loud enough for their front row to hear.

"That's risky," Patricia commented as they watched, holding their breaths for the split second before he kicked. The ball hit his foot with a deafening crack and they watched it zoom past Alfie, just inches above the ground. By the time it bounced on the uneven outfield, Mick touched first base and headed to second. The Anubis girls leapt to their feet and cheered louder than any of their counterparts as Alfie tapped home once more and Mick dove, launching himself at the third base.

"This is really exciting!" Nina exclaimed as they all took their seats. One of the Khepri boys huddled with Fabian, who had taken over while Mick was in the field. He caught Nina's eye and smiled before sending the younger boy up to take his turn. The other girls noticed, but only Mara reacted, adding it to Fabian's page in her notebook as the boy successfully kicked the ball into an empty space in the outfield. After a few more boys gave their best effort, Mick slid into home for the final time. He surveyed the loaded bases. With a score of seven to zero and two outs, he decided to send Fabian up, hoping to lengthen their inning.

"Go Fabian!" Nina called out, grinning. Her housemates glanced at her for a moment, smirking. "Just cheering on my housemates?" she tried, flustered by the sudden influx of attention. They all turned back to the action on the field, intentionally ignoring the blush slowly rising on Nina's cheeks. Fabian turned his head, chuckled at the drama in the bleachers, met Nina's eye once more, and promptly scored a home run. The green team's cheering section leapt to its feet and the other players lined up, waiting to congratulate Fabian as he ran, arms held high in a victorious pose. As he ran by, Fabian turned to the girls on the sidelines and grinned at them each in turn, lingering longest on Nina.

"You guys were amazing tonight!" Amber complimented hours later as the eight house of Anubis residents walked under a darkening sky.

"Still undefeated, am I right?" Jerome grinned, still filled with the adrenaline from the game.

"You've got it," Mara confirmed. "It's quite a record. I'll have to check the numbers again, but I think this was your best game yet. By the way, what was your warm up routine today?" Mick fell back a step so he could cross behind Amber and stand between her and Mara. They reviewed the pre-game routine as well as the general statistics. Soon, the whole group barged through the front door, meeting Trudy at the base of the stairs.

"Well?" she asked, insinuating her real question rather than asking it outright.

"We won, Trudy!" Alfie exclaimed. Even Victor couldn't contain the excitement that radiated off the students. He could, however, insist they go to bed promptly at ten o'clock, just as he did every night. They returned to their rooms grudgingly. Nina began rummaging through her drawers for pajamas.

"Don't get too comfortable," Amber warned. "We're heading to Patricia and Mara's room for a movie."

"Just the four of us? Cool," Nina commented, changing into her pajamas and running to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"You and Amber coming over?" Mara checked as she passed Nina in the hall.

"Yeah, we'll be right there," Nina confirmed. Ten minutes later, she and Amber crept down the hall, avoiding the boards they knew would screech at their arrival. All four girls sat between the two beds, a laptop placed far enough from them that they could see the images clearly, though they spent more time gossiping than watching.

"This is the real initiation," Patricia admitted as they caught Nina up on the backstories to the Anubis house members, the movie long forgotten. "Or, I guess it's more of a welcoming tradition. So, welcome to Anubis."

**Author's Note:** So, there's chapter one. As much as I wanted some of our favorite couples to end up together at the end, we all know that that didn't happen quite yet. As of right now, I'm focusing on keeping this story true to the actual timeline. I'm going to start working on the next chapter tomorrow morning, and also look out for some one-shots from me. Don't forget to review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I'm so glad you all enjoyed the first chapter of this story! To be honest, I was a little concerned since I haven't written fanfiction in quite a while, as well as being very new to writing these characters. Also, if anyone's interested, I wrote parts of this chapter while I was extraordinarily excited after having a really good day, and I probably wouldn't have this done yet if not for that, so be grateful that it rocked!

This chapter takes place one month after we left off. I've decided that is sometime around "House of Identity."

Thank you to Dragonclaw11, ksoftball06, S.I.B.U.N.A.1398, brittany1324, InusualGirl, Fina2212, Hannah Banana 1456, izzi08, and A Reviewing Reader for reviewing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own House of Anubis.

"Where are the boys?" Nina asked as she added her tray to the end of the table. She slid into the seat beside Patricia, her inquisitive eyes scanning the full cafeteria for any sign she could gather concerning the whereabouts of her male housemates. Amber pranced over to the pair and sat across from them, leaving a spot open for Mara, who arrived a moment later. Patricia wordlessly pointed to a long table not far from theirs that was completely engulfed by students.

"The blue team planning table," Mara explained. "Our boys are hidden somewhere in that mob. The teams were chosen almost randomly, so tonight we play alongside Leinth, Nergal, Osiris, and Odin...which means we're up against Mawat, Morana, Khepri, Flins, and Freyja." Amber gasped.

"They're putting Anubis against Khepri AND Mawat?" she exclaimed. Mara nodded. "No wonder they look pretty nervous over there." A group of slightly younger girls joined their table, and Nina waited for a cue before she began to speak again.

"The Odin girls," Patricia whispered, making sure that only Nina heard her explanation. Nina watched as one of the girls slid a paper to Mara. Mara peeked at the message written inside, nodded and passed it back to the girl, who ripped it twice and slipped the pieces back into her bag.

"I'll pass the message to the captain," she confirmed, hiding all expressions from her face. Only Patricia, who had known Mara for the longest, noticed the twitch at the edge of her lip. Just a breath after it appeared, it was gone, and Mara turned to Amber. "Can I borrow your cell?" she asked. "I left mine back at the house."

"Sure," Amber agreed, rummaging through her bag. Mara sent a fast text from the phone before returning it to its owner.

"So, what's the plan for tonight?" she asked, lightening the mood of the table.

"Well, Amber and I have a movie picked out, and we've got snacks already in the room, which means we just have to sneak up some sodas and such and we're all set to go," Nina announced.

"Awesome," Patricia commented, examining her lunch. "Now for a more important question, does anyone know what this is?"

"Maybe Victor enjoyed cooking for us so much that he volunteered to make lunch for the whole school?" Nina guessed, eliciting laughter from the other three girls. The game was quickly forgotten, and before they had a moment to think, the bell rung and they made their way to history class. Time passed more quickly than it did most Friday afternoons for the older students as they anticipated the nerve-wracking show-down, and soon enough the last classes ended. The halls cleared just as quickly as they filled as students went back to their houses. The Anubis boys sprinted ahead of the girls, anxious to prepare for the match ahead of them. When the girls stepped through the front door of Anubis house, they nearly interrupted Mick's preparation speech.

"Now we're going to get out there and make this house proud, yeah?" The other boys chorused their agreement, glancing at the girls before they left. The girls slipped to the side just as Trudy handed out waters to take with them.

"Why don't you girls go upstairs and get ready? I'll whip you up a quick snack for you," Trudy suggested. The girls agreed gladly, running up to their rooms to change into appropriate attire for the game. When they finished, Trudy met them at the front door with a picnic basket full of treats. "The boys forgot their pre-game snack," she explained, handing the basket to Mara.

"We'll make sure they fuel up," Nina promised. When the other girls looked at her strangely, she amended her statement. "I mean, we'll make sure they get their snacks."

"You Americans say some of the strangest things," Amber laughed. Nina shrugged.

"We should get going if we want to sit in the front row of the bleachers," Patricia pointed out. "We'll see you later, Trudy!" Mara led them out the door, her messenger bag slung securely over her shoulder. The girls spent the walk to the game gossiping, ignoring the feeling of suppression that increased with every step they took. Nina stopped them suddenly, breaking through the thin barrier they had placed before them, shielding them from the truth of the game.

"We're not any help to the boys if we're this nervous," she pointed out. The other girls bowed their heads. "If they could rally around their team and leave the house with confidence, we owe it to them to do the same. What's the worst that'll happen tonight? I'll tell you what: we lose. So what? It's just a game, isn't it?" Patricia gasped audibly.

"Just a game? Nina, you have no idea what tonight's match means. The second match of the term indicates the strengths of individual players as well as their houses. The captain of the winning team tonight determines the teams for next month's game. The other captain has already said he intends to bring his house to victory by splitting the Anubis boys between the two teams next month if he gets the chance. If that happened, we would have to split our loyalties between them," Patricia explained.

"But we would still cheer for them – all of them. And if tonight's the last chance we get to root for them all together, let's make the most of it," Nina argued. She began to walk forward, alone for a moment before her housemates decided to step up and join her. They walked together, drawing on their combined strength as they approached the field. Mrs. Andrews, the appointed chaperone for the match, watched them take their seats with intense focus. To her, they appeared stronger than ever. Mr. Winkler, who would be joining Mrs. Robinson as a referee, approached the older teacher.

"Their spirits are far higher than they should be," she confided.

"Perhaps they have more confidence in their housemates than we expected," Mr. Winkler pointed out. Mrs. Andrews turned her intense focus away from the Anubis girls – who by now had reunited with the boys of their house and were chatting lightly while sharing a snack – to glare at him for a moment, causing him to step backward involuntarily. He was saved from her wrath, however, when Mrs. Robinson called him over to review the rules.

"Captains!" Mrs. Robinson called out a few minutes later. Mick approached the center of the field, where his teammates could see the two captains shake hands before they faced off in a coin toss.

"Looks like they're heading to the field," Amber observed. Mara jotted down their positions quickly, noting the nervous tension that bound the players together.

"Alfie's pitching?" Nina asked, turning to her housemates. "I thought he never pitches?" Patricia shrugged as Alfie tossed the ball between his hands, his eyes wandering around the outskirts of the field and lingering for a moment on Amber before continuing their round. Mick directed the rest of his team to their positions. Mr. Winkler, standing behind home plate, indicated for play to begin. Alfie rolled the ball to the first player on the other team, who hit a home run. Their opponents continued to dominate the game, and soon the blue team was down nine to zero with two outs. Alfie rolled the ball to the opposing captain and star player, who hit it high.

"Jerome!" Mick shouted. The blond boy ran, quickly positioning himself beneath the falling ball. It landed in his arms, causing a cheer to run through the blue stands. Jerome's save immediately increased the adrenaline running through his teammates' veins, and they played the rest of the game with intensity and energy. The girls grinned as their housemates ran towards Mr. Winkler. They spread their most powerful hitters out, hoping to claim the lead. Ten minutes later, the two teams were tied at nine runs each and the blue team was in the field again. The clouds that had covered the sky all day opened slightly, releasing the first few raindrops of what everyone knew would be a harsh storm.

"Time out!" Mrs. Robinson shouted from the edge of the field. She met Mr. Winkler and Mrs. Andrews at the pitching mound, and the three teachers huddled together, unsure of what action to take.

"What's going on?" Nina asked.

"They have to decide what to do. Technically, students aren't allowed to play on this field if it's raining," Mara explained, putting her notebook back in her bag. "We just finished a full inning and it's tied at nine, but they can't leave it at a draw because then we can't play next month's match." Mrs. Robinson invited the two captains to join in the discussion before it ended and both returned to their respective teams.

"We're playing one out to the end of the next scoring inning," Mr. Winkler announced as the blue team took their positions. Mick walked Alfie to the pitching mound, giving him a few last-minute tips and reminders. Play resumed, and it took the blue team only three plays to successfully complete the one-out mandate without any change to the score. The teams switched quickly as the rain slowly increased. Mick sent Fabian up to hit for the first time that game, hoping he could repeat the home-run he had scored the previous month.

"Quick, Nina, cheer for him," Mara ordered suddenly. Nina turned to her with confusion evident on her face. "Just do it! Just like last time!"

"Go Fabian!" Nina called, trusting that Mara had a plan. Amber nudged her roommate, oblivious to the conversation she had just held. Fabian glance to the stands, met Nina's eyes, and grinned. As the ball rolled toward him, he struck it with unrestrained force, and it soared into the outfield. His teammates and their supporters cheered as he ran with all the energy he could spare. The ball hit the ground before one of their opponents caught it. By the time they sent it back to the pitcher, Fabian had taken off from third base. He slid into the home plate just as the catcher caught the ball, and both players looked to Mr. Winkler for the ruling.

"He's safe!" Mr. Winkler decided, calling his ruling out loudly enough for both teams to hear. The rain continued to pour down, more steadily now, but the blue team ignored it. They celebrated as the girls rushed out from the bleachers and joined the crowd surrounding Fabian. Groups of students broke off, each representing one of the competing houses. The Anubis students, thoroughly drenched, waited until the rest of the students had left before they, too, began the journey home. Patricia and Amber helped Mara stuff her bag into the weather-proof picnic basket to protect the valuable notebook inside, and Alfie slipped between Patricia and Amber to carry it back. Jerome and Mick stepped up to either side of Mara, who had fallen back when Alfie stole her place between the other two girls. Fabian slung an arm over Nina's shoulder and the whole group ran through the rain. They didn't stop until they tore through the front door of the house.

"There you are! I was getting worried about you all, out there in the rain. Come on in, let's dry you all off," Trudy rambled, running to close the door behind the group. "You all stay here; let me go get some towels." She disappeared down the hall and returned moments later with a stack of towels and passed them out to the students, who accepted them with eagerness reminiscent of children trick-or-treating on Halloween. The girls pulled away from the boys reluctantly as they went to their rooms to change out of their wet clothes.

"How did you stay so much drier than the rest of us?" Amber teased Nina as they ascended the stairs. Nina blushed.

"Save it for the movie later," Patricia interrupted before Nina could open her mouth. Amber grabbed Nina's arm and pulled her into their room. Ten minutes later, the four girls met in the hallway.

"What has Amber done to you?" Mara joked, observing Nina's carefully planned outfit. The other girls laughed along as they walked down the stairs and into the living room. They found Alfie sitting in one chair, Jerome and Mick on opposite ends of one couch, and Fabian alone on the other. Mara slid in between the two blond boys, and Amber took the open chair, leaving Patricia to playfully drag Nina to where Fabian sat.

"Well, that's one way to answer Mara's question," Amber pointed out. Nina's cheeks darkened as all four girls laughed, ignoring the confusion on the boys' faces.

"I'll tell you later," Nina whispered to Fabian. He grinned, letting his arm slip off the back of the couch and onto her shoulder.

"Alright, all of you, it's ten o'clock," Victor announced, making his first appearance of the night. "You all know what that means." The group dispersed quickly, returning to their rooms.

"Meet you in ten," Patricia whispered as the four girls split off in pairs. Victor shut off the hall light, cuing Mara and Patricia to sneak down the hall while Nina and Amber set up the movie and snacks. Patricia and Mara slipped into the room. The four girls curled up on Nina's quilt, which she had spread out on the floor, and another night of movies, snacks, and gossiping began.

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoy this chapter! I'll probably start working on chapter 3 in the morning. Let me know what you think by dropping a review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I'd like to take a moment to remind all of you that for the first few chapters of this story, I will be following the timeline of the story, including the couples and other interactions between characters. HOWEVER, when we hit chapters that occur after the series ends, I will have more freedom with the couples and such. Jara fans, don't just skip over this chapter: you might actually like it ;) Also, look out for my Jara one-shot coming out later this week entitled "Shoebox."

This chapter takes place right after "House of Aliens."

Thank you to Fina2212, Dragonclaw11, MiaAndOak, S.I.B.U.N.A.1398, jenc0449, izzi08, angela1997, Hannah Banana 1456, and Books and Other Drugs for reviewing.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own House of Anubis.

The bell rang, signaling the end of classes. Students flooded into the halls, pushing through the halls and into the open air. The Anubis girls hung back, packing up their books slowly. The boys ran ahead, chasing each other down the hall.

"I think they went back in time a few years, just for the day," Nina joked, watching them race back to the house. She hung her messenger bag over her shoulder and began walking to the door. Amber followed her quickly, stepping in front of Patricia. She and Mara had kept a careful distance all day, putting Nina, Patricia, or both between them. The girls paused at their lockers, retrieving Mara's sacred notebook, among others.

"So, who are we up against?" Patricia asked on the path back to the house, keeping the conversation focused on the game at hand. Mara flipped her notebook to the most recent page.

"Mick chose Flins, Khepri, Nergal, and Morana to play alongside Anubis, which puts us up against Osiris, Mawat, Leinth, Odin, and Freyja," she read off.

"Sounds like a pretty fair match up to me," Nina commented, opening the door to the house. The boys had changed into red t-shirts and were huddled under the chandelier. The girls crept around them quietly, trying their hardest not to disturb the hushed discussion. They slipped up the stairs unnoticed. Only when they opened the door at the top of the step, which creaked from constant use, did the boys' focus change. They looked up with intensity in every feature, momentarily shocking the girls into silence.

"We were just getting changed," Patricia recovered, pushing the door open the rest of the way. Amber and Mara stepped through instantly, but Nina was caught in Fabian's gaze. Patricia stealthily pulled at Nina's hand, reminding her of their surroundings. Nina stepped back, through the door. When it closed again, she looked around at her friends and saw the shock on her face mirrored in each of their expressions.

"I'm going to go get ready and then help Trudy make our snacks," she announced before they could recover, dashing into the room she shared with Amber and shutting the door behind her. She leaned against it and sighed. When she emerged a few minutes later, the hallway was empty, and the boys had left. Wasting no time, she sped down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she found Trudy whipping up a snack for the girls to take with them to the match.

"Need a hand?" Nina offered. Trudy smiled.

"That would be terrific, Nina," she agreed. Nina began rummaging through the cabinets, looking for their reusable water bottles. She found and filled them while Trudy packed each girl a snack. Moments later, the other girls tumbled down the stairs. A smile spread across Trudy's face as their voices filtered through the open kitchen door. Trudy joined them first, carrying three of the snacks and leaving the fourth on the counter for Nina.

"Nina? Are you coming?" Amber called. Nina grabbed her snack and the four red water bottles off the counter and joining the other girls at the bottom of the stairs.

"Water, anyone?" she offered, passing them out.

"Looks like you girls have everything you need. Have fun at the match!" Trudy opened the door and sent them on their way. As they walked, Mara informed the other girls of the results of her analysis.

"So, I've been analyzing the data from the last few games, and I realized you were right that first month, Nina. I was missing a huge piece of the game by ignoring the boys' behaviors and their interactions. Did you know that you're Fabian's good luck charm?" Nina spit out the water she had been sipping.

"This is going to be the best match yet," Patricia commented. Amber giggled her agreement.

"You can't possibly quantify that statement," Nina stuttered, appealing to Mara's intellect, her face red with embarrassment.

"Actually, I can," Mara countered, opening her notebook to Fabian's page. "Two months ago, you wished Fabian luck right before he went up to bat for the first time. Right after he made eye contact with you, he hit a home run. Later that game, you didn't do either of those things before he went up, and he struck out. Last month, he scored the winning run after you called out to him and met his eye." Nina's jaw dropped. "You're his good luck charm," Mara repeated.

By this point, the four girls had reached the field. The two teams had completed their warm-up routines and now huddled around their respective captains. The girls slid across the front row of one set of bleachers, joining the other girls supporting the blue team. It took only minutes for the match to begin.

"Hey Mara, what do you say we test your theory?" Patricia suggested from her place between Mara and Nina a little while later. Their team was ahead by 3 runs and had lined up once again behind the home plate.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Amber asked eagerly, leaning across Nina to address all three of the other girls. Nina rolled her eyes.

"If we're testing that theory, we're testing all of them," she decided, pulling Mara's notebook off her lap.

"What other theories are there?" Patricia asked, intrigued. She and Amber both looked to Mara as Nina flipped through the pages. Mara's eyes widened as Nina found the comments she had been searching for. Nina read through the comments before looking directly at Mara, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Apparently, I'm not the only good luck charm," Nina commented. Mara sighed.

"Nina's results are the clearest, but there are indications that the other boys have good luck charms as well," Mara admitted. Patricia grabbed the notebook from Nina's hands, reading through the same comments.

"Alfie's up," Nina interrupted before Patricia could pass the notebook to Amber. All four of the Anubis girls stood up, calling out Alfie's name in encouragement. Alfie grinned at them and hit a double, sending two younger students home to score.

"He didn't point this time," Nina noticed as Mara stole the book back out for Patricia's hand. Amber slipped a pen into Mara's outstretched hand so the dark-haired girl could keep the notes she had grown famous for. Mara held the notebook tightly through the next few players, hoping the other girls would forget the comments she had written.

"Go Mick!" Mara screamed when he stepped up, echoed by the other cheering girls. They watched as Mick stepped forward and waited for the perfect pitch before kicking it with all his might. It flew over the fence that surrounded the field and into the trees beyond.

"That's single homerun," Mr. Winkler, acting as both chaperone and referee, called out. Cheers from the red section drowned out his voice as Mick circled the bases, his arms raised up in victory. His team surrounded him when he returned to the line-up, and Mr. Winkler pulled out a spare ball from the bin between the bleachers.

Almost an hour later, the red team was down by 4 runs in the bottom of the last inning. Jerome and Fabian consulted on strategy behind home plate. Jerome stepped up first, hoping he wouldn't be the second of the three outs allowed.

"You've got this Jerome," Mara called out, her voice rising above the cheers of her housemates. Jerome bowed his head, focusing his energy before locking eyes with the pitcher. His kick allowed him to settle into first base comfortably before the ball returned to the pitcher, where he remained. By the time Fabian stepped up to hit minutes later, the red team down to its last out. Jerome had circled around to third base, and the score was tied. Amber, Patricia and Mara silently turned their heads to Nina.

"Go Fabian!" Nina called out, meeting his eye when he turned his head to look at her.

"Let's go, Fabian!" the other three girls cheered, grinning wildly. The ball rolled on the ground toward Fabian and he stepped forward to meet it. His foot collided with the ball and the force sent the ball flying into the air. Jerome took off, sliding into home plate as Fabian touched first base. At the same moment, one of the Odin boys caught the ball on a bounce and threw it with all his might to his captain, standing on first base.

"Safe!" Mr. Winkler called milliseconds before Mrs. Robinson called, "out!" The two teachers looked at each other as confusion blanketed the field. They jogged to an open space in the infield and conferred there for an eternal moment.

"Because Jerome returned to home base before the ball touched first, the red team wins!" Mrs. Robinson shouted at last. The red team lifted Jerome onto their shoulders and the girls flooded the field. Fabian dusted himself off, watching the celebration from afar. He saw Nina distance herself from the rest of the group and met her at the pitching mound.

"Nice game tonight," she complimented. He grinned.

"You should really congratulate Jerome. He made the winning run," Fabian pointed out as they began walking back to the bleachers, where the Anubis students would meet before returning to the house.

"Yeah, but the only reason he could is because you gave him the opening," Nina countered. "You both had to be a part of it for the team to win." They sat down on the bleachers, where Mara had left her notebook at the end of the game. Fabian reached over and picked it up carefully, opening it slightly to a bookmarked page. Nina, seeing the title before he did, grabbed it out of his hands.

"What?" he asked, attempting to school his features into innocence.

"Oh no you don't. This is Mara's notebook, not yours," she scolded, keeping her tone light as she spoke to hide her true motive. Luckily, the other members of Anubis House returned, Jerome still riding on Alfie and Mick's shoulders.

"Alright then, put him down," Patricia laughed as Jerome ceremoniously fell to the ground. Nina took the opportunity to slip the notebook back into Mara's hand while all four girls gathered their belongings. They began to walk back to the house, with Jerome in the center of the group. Nina and Fabian led the way, with Jerome and Mara behind them. Mick stepped protectively between the pair, causing Alfie – walking in back between Amber and Patricia – to roll his eyes uncharacteristically. Joking and laughter filled the walk as the boys, still running on high levels of adrenaline, jumped and flipped, constantly trying to out-do each other. They stopped when they reached the house, noticing the strange looks Trudy was giving them from the open front door.

"I assume your exuberant behavior means that you won tonight's match?" she checked, though she already knew the answer.

"You bet, Trudes," Mick agreed, leading his housemates in a cheer. Their celebration continued until Victor joined them, emerging from the basement promptly at ten o'clock to send them to bed. Amber and Nina snuck down the hall into Mara and Patricia's room soon after.

"I can't believe you were right," Nina admitted to Mara as they settled on the floor, the movie beginning softly from Mara's laptop.

"About what?" Amber asked. "You being Fabian's good luck charm?"

"Actually, I think _all_ of Mara's predictions are right," Patricia insinuated. "All four of our boys have good luck charms."

"They also have lucky behaviors," Mara pointed out, trying to derail the conversation and failing.

"Yes, they certainly do," Nina agreed, giggling. Patricia nodded.

"Let me see the notebook," Amber demanded.

"Absolutely not," Mara refused.

"Fine, we'll just have to tell her," Patricia shrugged. "Nina is Fabian's good luck charm, of course. You've been Alfie's ever since he developed a crush on you, Mick's is whoever he's dating at the moment, and Jerome's is Mara." Her tone was clear as she spoke, leaving no room for doubt or argument. Amber's eyebrows furrowed and she responded with a brilliant simplicity the other girls had rarely seen from her.

"That's it? Jerome's crush on Mara made her his good luck charm? Even I could have told you that."

**Author's Note:** hope you all enjoyed that! Remember to drop a review, and look out for my one-shot "Shoebox" in the coming days. Also, if you're in the US and reading this on Tuesday August 16, 2011, please watch America's Got Talent tonight and vote for Avery and the Calico Hearts! They're adorable, talented girls with a big dream! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Next chapter:** The next chapter will be the last one that occurs during the series as we know it in America, just in case you were wondering.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Here's chapter 4 of Just a Game. Sorry for the long wait, but I was a little busy with packing and moving into my dorm room. This is my first ever upload from the University where I'm studying! On a more relevant note (relevant to the story, that is) this is the last chapter in which I will be following the timeline of the series as we know it, so look forward to my own input coming up in future chapters ;) This chapter introduces Joy to the cast I'm focusing on. It sets up a lot of the action that will be happening during future chapters. Please leave a review if there's anything you're particularly interested in seeing!

This chapter takes place immediately after the finale.

Thank you to patrome4ever, Fina2212, izzi08, jeromeclarkamazing101, allthepossibilities, and Dragonclaw11 for reviewing. Thank you also to everyone who read my oneshot, "Shoebox." Check it out if you haven't already!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own House of Anubis.

"Good morning," Trudy greeted Nina late Saturday morning when the young girl walked downstairs, still in her pajamas. The table was set for nine rather than eight, and Patricia and Joy sat side-by-side at its head.

"Morning Trudy," Nina replied, slowly remembering the previous night's events. Her house mother bustled into the kitchen to continue preparing breakfast.

"Morning, Nina," Patricia yawned. Joy waved shyly, awkwardly. Nina took her usual spot opposite Patricia. Jerome and Alfie joined the table next, sitting in two of the three spots between Joy and Nina.

"Is this it?" Jerome checked while Alfie looked around the table for his favorite blond. Nina laughed a little.

"Amber's still asleep," Nina explained.

"More like still sleeping beauty," Alfie sighed. The others all laughed slightly, though more than one of them understood his emotions. As if on cue, Amber waltzed through the door in her usual fashion, lightly gliding toward the table. She greeted the members of the small group already eating and took her place beside Alfie. "Good morning, princess," he grinned, and though she rolled her eyes and looked away, her cheeks turned to a pale shade of pink. Fabian entered the room, distracting them momentarily. His hand trailed along the back of Nina's chair.

"Morning," he announced, claiming his usual spot beside Nina. He rested his hand on Nina's for a second, connecting with her more intimately than his verbal greeting could portray.

"I think we should meet at some point today," Jerome pointed out since only the members of Sibuna filled the room. Nina looked around for a moment, locking eyes first with Joy, and then Patricia, and finally Fabian.

"Burnt out tree in the woods," Fabian instructed. "One hour after breakfast." The others indicated their agreement silently just as Mara joined them. Mara sat beside Patricia, leaving an opening for Mick between her and Fabian. Mick jogged into the room seconds later. He kissed Mara's cheek as he sat beside her.

"Pre-game practice starts at two today, boys, alright?" he announced.

"Practice?" Joy asked, confused.

"Last night was the first Friday of the month, but since we had the prom, the teachers wanted to cancel the match. Instead, we just moved it to today," Mara explained.

"That's right!" Nina realized. "I totally forgot about that, with all the," she paused, choosing her next words carefully.

"Craziness," Patricia concluded, filling in the blanks Nina had left. Nina nodded.

"That's one way to put it," Jerome muttered. Alfie nodded. They continued their conversation through breakfast, informing Joy on all the minor events that had occurred since her departure. They deliberately left out anything that included the search for the ancient relics hidden in the house.

As breakfast came to its conclusion, the students worked together to clear the table, insisting that Trudy had earned a break from all her work. They completed the morning's chores quickly before splitting up. They returned to their rooms to change out of pajamas and into more suitable clothing for the day. Luckily for the members of Sibuna, Mick and Mara decided to take a walk into town, leaving them free to leave the house when they needed to without being noticed. They left separately even so, hoping that neither Trudy nor Victor would notice them pairing off and heading to the woods. The group converged in the woods at the appointed place and time. Nina called the meeting to order, asking Joy to step forward.

"Repeat after me," she began, leading Joy through the pledge Amber had created so long before. Joy tossed a poster of Robert Pattinson into the fire after little struggle, and the seven students sat on the logs in the clearing beside them. Six pairs of eyes turned to a nervous Nina, who looked back to each of them in turn before clearing her throat. "I'm not sure where to begin," she admitted.

"I think we're safe for now," Fabian stepped in, supporting Nina. "But there's no telling when Rufus will figure out that the elixir he drank wasn't real. We have to be ready for whenever that happens. He's proved before that he's willing to go to any lengths to get what he wants, and he'll certainly show no mercy if he does figure it out."

"We have to make sure to stick together," Nina agreed.

"What's going to happen to Victor and the other teachers now that they can't drink the elixir anymore?" Jerome asked.

"They'll age," Joy spoke up. She sat up a little straighter as she volunteered information she had gathered during her absence from the school. "My dad said that Victor stopped drinking it once, to see how long the effects would last. He said that Victor was fine for a while, but then he slowly started to age."

"So pretty soon Victor's going to be...like...really old?" Amber checked.

"Not necessarily," Fabian disagreed. "The elixir most likely temporarily stopped the aging process and now the normal metabolic functions will resume as they would have." When he noticed Amber and Joy's confusion, he rephrased the explanation in more vernacular terms. "It's like pausing a movie for a bit. When you press play, it doesn't keep going faster; it's at the regular speed. That's likely what will happen to Victor." The two girls indicated their understanding by nodding their heads.

"I think we should tell Mara and Mick," Patricia announced, her voice shaky. When the rest of the group stared at her incredulously, she looked only at Amber. "Like Fabian said, Rufus will go to any lengths to get what he wants. Don't you think that puts Mara and Mick in danger, too?" Amber sighed.

"Patricia's right," she conceded, though the idea of connecting with Mara and Mick was still a sore subject for her. Nina looked around, checking for the approval of each individual member.

"We'll tell Mara tonight," she announced, referring to the other girls as well as herself before turning to the boys. "You guys will tell Mick." They nodded before noticing the time.

"We're supposed to be at practice in ten minutes!" Fabian exclaimed. The three boys leapt up from their seats in one unified motion and began sprinting through the woods, leaping over fallen branches and swerving around tree trunks. The girls laughed and returned to the house at a more leisurely rate, reaching the back door just after 2 o'clock. They sat in the living room; Mara joined them soon after.

"Movie's in our room tonight, right?" Nina checked when all five sat together, referring to Amber as well. The other girls nodded and the conversation shifted to their plans for the remainder of the afternoon, as well as their plans for the rest of the week, which would end with their departures from the house for the two-week winter break.

"I say we have a spa day," Amber suggested, brightening as she thought about her own idea. "We could do our hair, and our nails...oh my gosh, we have to have a spa day!" The other girls laughed for a moment before Amber grabbed Joy and Nina's wrists. Nina in turn grabbed onto Mara, and Joy snatched at Patricia. The five girls clumped together as they pounded up the stairs and into the room that Amber and Nina shared. "Nina's first!" Amber announced gleefully. She pushed Nina into the chair in front of her vanity before distributing orders to the rest of the girls.

"Mara, you and Patricia can go through Nina's closet and find her something to wear tonight. Remember, the boys are on red again, so keep that in mind when you pick something out. Joy, you're with me over here. Now, what to do with her hair..."

It wasn't long before the grandfather clock struck four and the girls finally emerged from the room, looking refreshed and certainly ready for the game that afternoon. Trudy watched them descend the stairs with a maternal smile, and they created a circle to include her.

"I was just about to come upstairs and check on you girls. The match starts in half an hour, so I suspect you'll want to be going." The girls agreed, slipping on light coats before pocketing the snacks Trudy held out to them.

"I can't believe it's the last game of the term," Amber commented as they walked along the worn path from the old house to the field.

"I know, my folks are coming to get me on Thursday for the holidays," Mara added.

"I'm not sure what'll be happening to me after this week," Joy mentioned casually, yet all four of the other girls stopped.

"What do you mean, exactly?" Patricia asked suspiciously. "You are coming back after break, aren't you?" Joy didn't answer, choosing to look at the ground rather than at her friends.

"I wish I could say yes, but I just don't know," she whispered. Nina alone stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Joy's shoulder.

"If this is the only time we'll all be together, let's make the most of it," she decided. Mara stepped up to Joy's other side, leaving a spot open beside her for Patricia, who joined them at the same moment Amber did. All five girls joined hands and found their feet leading them naturally to the field where the boys stood, ready to begin. Two younger girls stood from the front bench and took seats in the second row with their housemates, smiling as the team captain's housemates claimed their usual positions. With five girls on the bench, their space was limited, but they all silently agreed that it was the best arrangement.

Mara kept her usual careful notes on the players actions throughout the game, watching the Anubis boys carefully as they led the red team through one inning after another.

The game ended in a landslide victory for the red team, and the Anubis girls were the first to congratulate the team. The other members of the team allowed Nina, Mara and Amber into the center to greet Fabian, Mick, and Alfie respectively. Jerome squirmed out, waiting patiently with Joy and Patricia for the crowd to disperse.

"Great game today, mate," Fabian happily complimented Mick on the way back to the dorm. The two boys walked side-by-side, with Mara and Nina on either side. Mick held Mara's hand tightly, grinning when she squeezed his hand comfortingly, and Fabian rested his arm across Nina's waist, holding her close to him. In front of them, Amber and Patricia laughed at Alfie's antics as he ran from one edge of the path to the other, holding out his arms and imagining he was an airplane, just as he had done so often in his youth.

"I know how you feel," Jerome confided in Joy as they walked behind the other residents of their house. Joy concealed the shocking features that covered her face by turning her head away, allowing her dark hair to fall over her shoulder, building a physical barrier between them. "You're mad at Nina for caring about Fabian as much as you did, or should I say as much as you do. I can help you, you know," he added before she could suspect just how well he knew this fact.

"Help me what?" Joy asked, intrigued by Jerome's change in behavior since she had known him.

"Get Fabian back," he replied, as though no other choice existed. Joy shook her head.

"I'm not going to sabotage them," she refused. Jerome didn't let this phase him.

"I just thought that after all the time you spent with Victor and his secret society, you would have picked up on the finer art of espionage," he commented off-handedly. Joy froze in her spot, turning to glare at Jerome.

"You're a real prick, you know that?" she spat. He shrugged as they followed the others through the door of Anubis House, greeting Trudy with smiles and laughter. They sat around the couches and chairs in the living room, talking until Victor sent them to bed. Mara, Patricia, and Joy snuck across the hall into Nina and Amber's room, as they had become so accustomed to doing.

"So what's on the menu for tonight?" Mara asked, sitting on the blanket Nina had laid out. The other four girls exchanged quick glances. None of them wanted to reveal the secrets they had kept for months from one of their closest friends, though they all knew that they had no choice. Nina took a deep breath and spoke first.

"Mara, there's something we have to tell you," she said quietly, sitting on the blanket across from the smaller girl. Amber and Patricia flanked her on either side, and Joy slipped into the open space between Mara and Amber.

"Is this about last night?" Mara checked. The other girls were taken aback by her comment so she explained, "I mean, you all left almost right away and then when you came back, Joy was with you..." Patricia nodded.

"It's sort of a long story," she stalled. Mara shrugged her shoulders once and looked back to Nina, who had closed her eyes to focus her mind on the memories she had stored away.

"It all started a few months ago, when I first came to the school..."

**Author's Note: **I hope that chapter was worth the wait! Please review if you read this, I'm dying to hear what you liked, what you didn't like, and any suggestions for something you'd like to see in future chapters!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** I finally got a break to work on this! I decided that their break would be a few weeks long for Christmas, New Years, and all of that good stuff. Here they are, just coming back a month after we last saw them. It may seem like it's a filler chapter, but trust me when I tell you it isn't. Please review! Let me know if anything wasn't clear, particularly the use of the flashbacks, since those will become more frequent in future chapters.

Thank you to izzi08, ninanathalia179, Chictionary, Fina2212, Dragonclaw11, and FabinaFina for reviewing.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own House of Anubis.

"Nina! You're back!" Amber exclaimed as Nina dragged her suitcases through the front door early Friday afternoon. "Hey everyone! Nina's back!" Nina turned toward the stairs as she heard three pairs of feet – belonging to Patricia, Joy, and Mara – rumbling toward her.

"Nina!" they cheered, surrounding her. Nina embraced them each in turn, a smile growing across her face.

"So you're back for the semester, then?" she checked as she stood next to Joy.

"Yeah, my parents decided that I had been traumatized too much, so they wanted me to have some stability where they knew everyone," Joy laughed.

"Meaning they don't want you to be able to blackmail them," Nina presumed. The other three girls laughed as Joy nodded. Mara grabbed Nina's messenger bag – which she had used as a carry-on – and with a bit of help from Patricia and Joy, Nina moved one of her suitcases up the stairs to the room she had grown to love. Before the girls could start catching up on everything that had happened during their break, four more pairs of feet thundered into the house through the front door. Their familiar voices carried up the stairs, and Nina brightened instantly. The voices drew closer as the boys, noticing Nina's other suitcase at the bottom of the stairs, grabbed it and sprinted to the room she shared with Amber. Fabian, carrying the suitcase by the upper handle, led the charge through Nina's door. Jerome and Alfie held the wheels for a moment, lowering them slowly. Fabian smoothly transitioned from holding the handle to handing it off to Mick, allowing the other three boys to control the luggage.

The moment Fabian's arms hung freely at his side, Nina filled them joyfully, glad to be in his presence once more. Aware of their housemates' eager observations, they remained in a close embrace for only a moment before separating and joining hands, wordlessly agreeing to resume their greeting at a later time, without an audience. All nine members of the house stood in a circle, chatting just loudly enough to capture Trudy's attention, who invited them all down for a snack before the boys left again, this time accompanied by cheers as the girls congregated at the top of the steps. They returned to their rooms briefly to ensure that they were properly dressed for the first game of the term before returning to the kitchen and joining Trudy.

"Now you all do me a favor and don't start too much trouble tonight, alright?" their housemother pleaded.

"Don't worry Trudy, we'll be on our best behavior," Mara promised. Her eyes turned to the other girls, who fought to hide their smirks. "We'll try," she amended, knowing that any of their schemes would most likely include her as well.

"Right then, off with you. Have fun!" Trudy grinned. The girls enclosed her in a group hug before grabbing their waters and running out the door.

"Hey Mara, where's your notebook?" Nina asked.

"We're playing the teachers tonight," Patricia jumped in. "There's no real need to keep track of statistics for that."

"About half of the students that usually play are competing tonight, including all four of our boys," Amber added.

"Wait, is Victor playing?" Joy checked. All five girls stopped for a moment, exchanging glances, before racing to the field, desperate to find the perfect seats and to learn if he would join the other teachers. Unlike the other matches, where the students lounged across the two sets of bleacher seats, this time they squished into only one set. The entire student body of the upper school had turned out to support the diverse team of students from each house. Only Anubis, the reigning champions, was able to play with all four of its usual members. Each of the other 9 houses that usually played had selected representatives to fill the other 16 slots on the team, creating a team with more power and skill than they usually had.

Teachers from both the upper and lower schools, most of them young, huddled on the other side of the field. Members of the faculty who had chosen not to join in the match sat on the spare bleacher set to observe the game alongside the students. Mrs. Robinson stood on the pitcher's mound. Seeing the Anubis house girls take their seats, she approached them confidently, holding a spare referee shirt and whistle in one hand.

"Mara," she began, interrupting the girls' laughter. The students around them quieted instantly, wondering why one of the teachers was standing beside them. "I'd like to ask you to judge this match with me."

"Why me?" Mara asked bluntly.

"You're school rep, Mara," Amber pointed out.

"It would only be fair," Nina added. "To have both a student and a teacher making the decisions." Mara considered their advice before agreeing to join Ms. Robinson on the field. Joy, Patricia, Nina and Amber leapt up and dragged Mara behind the bleachers. The girls in the second row joined them, and – locking elbows – they formed a circle around Mara with their backs facing inward, allowing her to secretly change into the standard, unbiased stripes of the referee. When she emerged, the other girls dispersed. Mara jogged to the center of the field as the other girls reclaimed their seats. Younger students had gathered at the edges of the field, sitting and standing on either side of the bleachers to watch the match.

"You all know the rules," Ms. Robinson announced, hushing the crowd. "Each team will play through three outs. Tonight we play 5 innings. We'll decide now by the flip of the coin. Teachers, call it." Mr. Winkler predicted the toss incorrectly, giving the students the opportunity to choose their initial location.

"We'll take the field," Mick decided. His teammates jogged out to their places. One of the boys from the House of Odin shook hands with Mick on the pitcher's mound and bounced the ball once, twice. It rolled across the field and one of the lower school teachers, a younger woman who taught mathematics, tapped it gently, catching the students off guard. She took their shock for a head start, and made it to first base before one of the boys successfully returned the ball to the pitcher.

"I've got the infield," Alfie shouted. Mick nodded, frustrated and only half-listening. Mara sighed, knowing that she had no power to comfort him or wish him luck from her position on the field. Another teacher from the lower school kicked next, followed by one of the other house masters. The sole boy playing from the House of Freyja ran to the pitcher's mound and he consulted the pitcher before the ball bounced lightly to home plate. Around ten minutes later, the score had changed to five to zero and two of the teachers had struck out, leaving only one out available with three runners on the bases. Because he was the newest member of the team, Mr. Winkler was forced forward. The members of Sibuna, having encountered their teacher in a particularly poor light, glared. Ms. Robinson also narrowed her eyes, but Mara remained calm.

Mr. Winkler struck out, and the students soon took the lead, bringing their score up to nearly triple that of their teachers. The next few innings followed a similar pattern: the teachers would score a few times, and then the students would pull significantly further ahead. At the start of the fifth and final inning, the students had a lead of nearly thirty points. Ms. Robinson blew her whistle once, summoning both captains to the pitching mound, where she and Mara joined them.

"This is the last inning. If the teachers don't take the lead, we don't play the second half of the inning, clear?" she reminded them. Mick grinned at Mara, who checked that Ms. Robinson wasn't looking before she smiled back briefly. Mick and the other captain (a newer teacher at the lower school) shook hands again and Mick spoke to a few members of his team on his way back to his spot, letting them know the situation. Out of the corner of her eye, Mara saw the other girls join hands in solidarity and wished for a moment that she could be there with them, that just for a moment she didn't have to live up to her responsibilities required in the position she had so desperately wanted. She turned her attention back to the match, watching as the students allowed the teachers to fall into a false confidence by making intentional blunders before performing an ingenious move that caught the teachers off guard and ended the game in a quick triple play.

As Mara watched, joy written in her expression, the players and fans seemed to move in slow-motion. The twenty boys ran to the pitching mound first, followed by the fans in and around the bleachers. The younger students formed their own groups, keeping away from the chaotic celebration. The teachers waited to congratulate their opponents. Behind the bleachers, the shadows moved unseen. A man dressed all in black emerged long enough to slip a single sheet of paper into a jacket left for a moment on the bleachers. He disappeared for a moment, and then Mara saw his hand reach through the bleachers, another paper in hand. She tore her eyes away from the spot to observe the teachers, who had congregated in a similar fashion to the students, though for a different purpose. Mr. Winkler looked to where she stood, hoping to catch Ms. Robinson's gaze for just a moment. She stubbornly refused to look back to him. Mara turned her head up to her teacher as the world snapped back into its proper speed.

"I know you don't believe me, but he didn't intentionally stand you up," she said, successfully confusing her teacher before running to join the other girls from her house, squashed in the middle of the crowd.

"So, we decided that you're not allowed to be the referee again. Ever," Amber announced after Mara wove through the group.

"It's no fun without you on the bleachers," Nina agreed. Fabian came up to Nina's side and placed a hand on her waist. She shifted her weight toward him, acknowledging his presence without interrupting the conversation she was a part of. Patricia and Joy joined them, closing the circle. Mick stepped between Amber and Mara.

"Mick!" Mara exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him. "Great match today!" the other students cheered in agreement.

"Thanks, babe," he replied, one arm resting lazily around Mara's waist. Alfie and Jerome finally found their housemates and stepped between Amber and Patricia, enlarging the circle once more. Other players and fans started to disperse, returning to their houses, leaving the Sibuna members in the center of the field. The boys slipped away individually to shake hands with the teachers against whom they had played.

"Ready to go?" Mick checked when he returned to the group after a short conversation with some of the teachers. His housemates nodded. Amber picked her jacket up off the bleachers, Nina grabbed her messenger bag, and they all set off toward the House of Anubis.

"Went out with a bang, I heard," Trudy greeted them brightly when they arrived, obviously having already heard the outcome from Victor, who had left within minutes of the final play.

"We always do," Jerome confirmed, speaking up for what may have been the first time that night. They gathered around the table, reclaiming the same spots they had grown accustomed to prior to the break.

"So Nina, what did you do over break?" Joy asked conversationally as they ate. Nina's cheeks turned red and she smiled shyly, playfully, her eyes glancing at Fabian.

"I knew it!" Amber squealed. "You two got together over the break, didn't you?"

_Flashback_

_Nina clicked her mouse, sending yet another e-mail to Fabian from the computer in her bedroom. She sighed. As nice as it was to hear from him in his e-mails, it wasn't quite the same as listening to his voice or having him beside her, making her smile and laugh with ease. She had been old enough to understand what was happening when her parents had died, and her life had been hard afterward as she struggled to adjust to a new life. She loved her grandmother dearly, but she enjoyed being close to someone her own age. She had always been the "weird one" at school, with few friends she could count on. Fabian had been her first real friend, and then it had spiraled into something else, something greater, and now all she wanted was to be with him._

_A car pulled up outside her house, but Nina ignored it, assuming it was a delivery of some sort. Even when the doorbell rang, she didn't move, wallowing in pity on her bed. Suddenly, she heard an unfamiliar tapping noise coming from the window on the opposite wall. She sat up straighter, listening more closely. When it repeated, she looked over her shoulder at the source of the offensive noise. She rose from her chair without blinking and slowly crept to the window. When she looked down, she saw a familiar face waiting for her, grinning as she came into view._

_End Flashback_

"That's so sweet!" Mara gushed.

"Pay up, boys," Patricia demanded of Jerome and Alfie, who rummaged in their pockets for a few pounds to pay their friend.

"You couldn't have held off, mate?" Alfie groaned. Nina caught onto the scheme and narrowed her eyes playfully at Patricia.

"What are you looking at me for? They're the ones who put money on it," Patricia argued, pointing at Jerome and Alfie. Nina thought for a moment, pretending to consider all aspects of the situation.

"What about you Mara?" Amber asked, shifting the attention away from the more diabolical gang. "Any special stories?" Mara bit her lip lightly, a nervous habit she had developed. Amber quickly assumed that Mara was hiding something from the group, but before she could inquire further, Victor sentenced the students to bed. Nina and Amber waited impatiently for Victor to darken the hall before they snuck to the other girls' room.

"Alright Mara, let's hear it. What exactly happened over the break? What haven't you told us?" Amber demanded when the door had shut securely behind Nina. All five girls took their places on the floor, avoiding the new bunk bed that had replaced one of the singles. Patricia distributed snacks and Joy opened a two-liter soda bottle, pouring it out. The movie and laptop sat undisturbed on Mara's bed, beside her open notebook. Mara took the well-known object and set it on her lap.

"Jerome saw the notebook," she began.

_Flashback_

"_Almost ready?" Jerome checked. "The cab will be here any minute." _

"_Just about," Mara confirmed, packing her messenger bag with a few essential items. "I'll have to grab some gum when we get to the airport, but that's it." Jerome helped her lift her suitcase off her bed and together they maneuvered it downstairs slowly. They sat on the stairs as they waited for their ride, engaging in casual conversation. Just as the horn honked outside, Mara jumped up._

"_What?" Jerome asked, rising more slowly._

"_I forgot something in my room, be right back," she assured hurriedly, sprinting up the stairs. Jerome rolled his eyes and began dragging his suitcase outside, leaving it with the driver and returning indoors for Mara's. She reappeared at the bottom of the stairs holding a notebook._

"_No. Absolutely no homework during break," Jerome argued, stealing it out of her hands, ignoring her protests. He noticed the title on the front of the notebook only after he had assisted in moving her suitcase outdoors and had slid into the backseat of the cab, at which point his suspicions grew. Why would she be so concerned with hiding this from him?_

_End Flashback_

**Author's Note:** I'm going to go hide from all the rotten tomatoes I know you're throwing at me for doing that to you. Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter! I PROMISE you'll soon learn what Mara is hiding, it just wasn't time yet...mad at me? Confused? Have something you want to see? Let me know in a review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** I'm really glad you are all enjoying this story so far, don't forget to review! This chapter has a number of flashbacks, since we don't have the luxury of the show to give us the background of what has happened between two chapters. I also included a flashback that I think many of you might have missed in the last chapter since it wasn't important then but is now.

Thanks to izzi08, Fina2212, Dragonclaw11, anubisfreak, and house of anubis fan 7 for reviewing.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own House of Anubis.

"How's that work coming, Mara?" Nina asked, standing in the doorway. Her entrance visibly startled Mara, who was lying on her stomach with a pillow under her elbows.

"Sorry, I didn't notice you were there, I'm studying biology," she lied. Nina shook her head but instead of walking away, she stepped into the room and sat on Mara's bed.

"It might help if you turned the page every so often," Nina offered, revealing Mara's deception. "I've been standing at your door for fifteen minutes, Mara. I know you're not actually studying right now." Mara turned onto her side and faced Nina. Seeing the sadness covering Mara's face, Nina rose and closed the door, remembering the first time she had shared this type of moment with her friend.

_Flashback_

"_I can't believe you would say that, Jerome!" Mara shouted. Nina walked slowly toward the source of the commotion. _

"_What do you think he was doing today in the library?" Jerome countered, matching Mara's volume._

"_I don't know, studying?" Mara argued, her tone oozing with sarcasm. _

"_Are you really that thick, Mara? Mick, study in the library? Are you kidding me?" Jerome's mockery only served to increase Mara's anger. "He's cheating on you, Mara, why can't you admit it?" _

"_Because he's not!" Mara fought, raising her voice even louder. Nina, who had sensed the explosion before it occurred, stood ready at the top of the stairs. She sprinted down to the living room where Mara and Jerome faced each other, only a few inches between their bodies. Nina waited in the silence until Mara noticed her watching._

"_Why don't we go upstairs, Mara," Nina suggested cautiously. Mara stormed out of the room and up the stairs angrily, with Nina following her closely into her room, shutting the door beside her and waiting for Mara to speak._

"_Jerome says Mick's cheating on me."_

_End Flashback_

"I feel like I should be over him," Mara whispered.

"It's only been a week, Mara," Nina consoled. She heard a knock on the door and instinctively answered it, allowing Patricia to enter the room. The bolder girl sat on the lower bunk across the room.

"Oh Mara, what did he do today," she asked sadly.

_Flashback_

"_Hey Mara," Mick greeted at breakfast. Mara kept her eyes on her plate, silently cursing her roommates for leaving early to research the latest clue in the library and cursing herself for opting to sleep in after spending hours working on deciphering it the night before with Jerome and Alfie. After a few more minutes of tense silence, Mick finally exploded._

"_This isn't my fault!" he shouted. Mara looked up from her breakfast, shocked by his outburst. "You're the one who started this, with your notebook! Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out? That I was that thick?" _

_End Flashback_

"And now I have to go cheer him on in the match," Mara summarized. Joy and Amber slipped into the room just as Mara finished her story.

"So let's make him regret it," Joy suggested. "We've got half an hour before it starts, which means we have plenty of time to get you ready." Amber grinned as Nina and Joy helped Mara off the bed. Soon all four girls surrounded her, discussing their options. At any moment, one of them would run across the room to her closet, dresser, or vanity to find a piece of the ensemble they were creating. Twenty-five minutes later, they ran down the stairs to meet Trudy in the entryway. Nina, Patricia and Joy sprinted ahead of Mara and Amber to secure their seats in the bleachers.

"Slow down, Amber! You know I can't walk in heels!" Mara complained.

"Mara, if we're going to get you together with Jerome, you need to learn to walk in heels. That way, you won't be awkwardly shorter than him when you kiss, only appropriately shorter," Amber countered, never breaking step and shocking Mara into silence. When they reached the field, Amber stopped Mara from walking in. She peeked around the bushes, waiting for the ideal moment. Mick's team, having lost the coin toss, was forced to begin kicking. Mick directed his teammates to an order, glancing at the empty seat in the bleachers between Patricia and Nina.

"I'm going to go in. Count to ten before you follow me, okay?" Amber directed. Mara agreed and followed the instructions. She walked slowly and purposefully to the seat her housemates had saved for her, keeping her eyes trained on her target.

"I have to hand it to you, Amber, you're good," Patricia commented, grinning. Mara sat beside her, playing with empty hands worriedly.

"Everything alright, Mara?" Joy checked, keeping only half her attention on the match.

"I'm not used to being here without my notebook, that's all," she admitted.

"Would you like it?" Nina asked, opening her bag and pretending to only want her water so that none of the boys could tell what was actually going on. Mara saw the edge of her notebook sticking out of the top, invisible to anyone who didn't know it as well as she did. "I wasn't sure, since it's started all this trouble," Nina admitted. Mara took a few minutes to think, and the other girls returned their combined focus to the match, cheering for their housemates in the closest match they had played yet.

"I think I would like it," Mara finally decided. "I know I should just leave this alone, but I can't help it. That notebook caused this chaotic mess, but before that, a lot of good came from that notebook. We never lost a game once the boys had a way to track their progress. A lot of good came from that notebook, and I don't think I'm quite ready to give that part up. You have to take the good with the bad, you know?" As if on cue, Mick stepped up to kick. The girls watched him anxiously, Mara reaching out to the hands of Patricia and Nina on either side of her. Mick pushed his hair back, and all five girls grinned, knowing it was his cue to let them know he had found an opening for a home run. Sure enough, as the ball approached him, Mick kicked it with all his strength, all his leftover anger and hurt, and it hurtled past the farthest players, who all ran to retrieve it as Mick circled the bases.

Nina handed Mara her notebook, and she ran her hands over its cover before flipping through the pages, searching for the one she wanted. Joy stopped her at one point, noticing something none of the girls had fully realized before.

"What's that?" Joy inquired, her attention once again departing from the game. Mara closed her eyes tightly, her face screwing into an emotion the others couldn't read.

"That's the reason Mick and I broke up," she whispered.

"You mean _that's_ the page that Mick was talking about?" Amber checked, though she was not alone in mistaking it for a different section in her mind. None of the girls had ever seen that page before. "Is this what Jerome saw, too?" Mara nodded distantly as she remembered the first day she had written on that page.

_Flashback_

"_I nominate Mara Jaffray," she whispered to herself, longing to remain in the moment forever. For a moment, everything had been perfect. No Mick bugging her for help with homework, no roommates bailing on her for secret meetings, no tension with friends over stupid arguments. Her hand moved of its own volition, dragging a pencil across the page of her closest notebook, sitting open on the table usually covered in food for their daily meals. _

"_Hey Mara," Mick greeted. Mara's perfect bubble popped as she looked up and registered his presence. _

"_Hi Mick," Mara replied, subconsciously dragging the notebook closer to her protectively. Mick, assuming she was working on homework, grabbed an apple from the bowl in the center of the table and returned to the bedroom he and Fabian shared. Mara released a breath she had forgotten she was holding and looked down to examine her doodles. She gasped when she saw a heart with two names in it – hers and Jerome's – jotted neatly on the side of the page._

_End Flashback_

"So neither of them saw this page," Nina checked, flipping a few pages further as their team struck out and changed places with their opponents. Mara shook her head.

"No. I think it would have been better if they had. All that shows is that Jerome liked me-"

"Likes," Amber interrupted. Mara rolled her eyes at Amber before continuing.

"Like I was saying, it shows Jerome's crush on me, but it doesn't indicate anything about my feelings toward him," Mara concluded.

"Which are...?" Joy prodded.

"A topic for tonight's sleepover," Nina jumped in, discreetly motioning to the other girls in the bleachers, who could hear their conversation without having to try. Her housemates noticed this and agreed to push their conversation to later that night. They forced themselves back to the match, where they watched Mick catch two tosses in a row.

"Mick's playing really well," Joy commented. Mara nodded, distracted. The opposing team scored a few runs before a younger team member successfully completed a play that ended with the third out of the inning. When the players traded places again, Mick glanced at Mara as he walked with his team, his eyes filled with determination.

"What do I do if he wants to give us another try?" Mara asked quietly, meeting Mick's gaze for a moment. Mick quickly looked away, walking forward past Jerome to meet Fabian and two other boys at home plate. They planned their next few moves carefully, hoping to take a large lead by the end of their turn.

"Tell him no," Patricia insisted. "He's the one who cheated on you, not the other way around." Mara's gaze turned from longing to puzzled as her peripheral vision caught a shadow moving along the forest, just barely out of sight. She focused her eyes there, wondering what was there, and the shadow moved again.

_Flashback_

_Behind the bleachers, the shadows moved unseen. A man dressed all in black emerged long enough to slip a single sheet of paper into a jacket left for a moment on the bleachers. He disappeared for a moment, and then Mara saw his hand reach through the bleachers, another paper in hand._

_End Flashback_

"Did anyone just see that?" she asked, nearly jumping out of her seat in surprise. "The shadows in the forest just moved. I saw it last game too, but I didn't think anything of it." Nina's hand moved to her locket and she closed her eyes, increasing her awareness of her surroundings. She opened her eyes once more and indicated to the other girls that their best option in that moment would be to focus entirely on the game. Her hand remained on her locket, however, through the next two innings. Mara worried that the metal chain or the clasp would cut through Nina's hand, but she didn't speak up, knowing that her friend knew the locket much better than she did.

Alfie and Jerome plotted as their teammates walked forward one by one until the two sides switched positions once again. When they returned to the field, Jerome stood on the pitcher's mound, ignoring Mick's protests. Alfie stood beside him with the ball, grinning with his best friend. Finally, after a loud, one-sided argument, Jerome stepped off the pitching mound and stood in the infield. The girls grinned, noticing the boys' new strategy: distracting their opponents and creating a sense of disorder. Only the girls from Anubis felt the tension underlying the game, caused by the constantly changing relationships within their small group.

As the game continued, the boys took turns looking over to the girls from their houses. The phenomenon was not specific to the students from Anubis, though they certainly paid the most attention to it. Mara noticed, however, that the other houses had begun following Anubis's lead. More and more of the girls had turned out to the matches recently. A few other houses were starting the term with perfect attendance records, matching the one Anubis always upheld. Amber, Patricia and Joy all enjoyed chatting with the other girls in their cheering section, and Nina had been there long enough that she knew nearly everyone. However, it was her turn to assist Mara in keeping track of the behaviors on the field.

"Last inning," Nina announced, handing her job over to Patricia and joining the conversation between Amber and a few girls behind them.

"Last chance," Patricia added as Mick stepped forward. The girls watched as their team pulled ahead by 6 runs before they were forced to switch positions with their opponents one last time. Across the field, the other half of the spectators cheered loudly as their star player waited for Alfie to roll the ball.

"If they don't get him out, we're done," the girl behind Mara whispered, genuinely nervous.

"So they'll get him out," Mara replied instantly. The younger girl smiled and remained silent until the play had been completed, and Fabian caught the ball as it flew through the air, holding it close to his chest as he ran towards the pitching mound, where he hand-delivered it to Alfie.

"How do you do it? You're always so confident in them," the girl behind them commented.

"If we don't believe in them, why are we here? They're our housemates – we support them no matter what," Nina replied, her hand reaching out to Mara, who was grateful for the double meaning of the words her friend had spoken.

Four plays later, the game ended, and the Anubis boys came out on top once more. Their team had won by a single point. Patricia and Joy walked closely on either side of Mara, guarding her on the walk back. Mick walked next with Amber and Alfie, and Fabian and Nina joined Jerome in the rear of the group. Mara stopped them as they walked back, and Nina grabbed her locket as the shadows moved again.

"Does this have to do with those messages we've been finding since the last game?" Fabian checked.

_Flashback_

"_I don't understand, why do you have a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers on it?" Alfie asked._

"_I found it in my bag," Nina explained, though she seemed just as confused as the others._

"_This one was in my jacket pocket," Amber added. "I don't know what they mean, but I think we're onto something."_

_End Flashback_

"I think it does," Nina confirmed. "Looks like we'll have to make this a Sibuna sleepover."

"I'll start setting up everything in our room," Amber agreed.

"We can try and get some extra snacks," Joy added; her roommates agreed.

"I'll get the notes out of the hiding spot," Nina finished. "Sibuna?" she checked, lifting her right hand.

"Sibuna," the other members of Anubis house chorused.

**Author's Note:** There you go: a peek at the notebook, as well as a glimpse of the new mysteries. Don't forget to review – reviews make a happy author and a happy author likes to update!


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